The View

FINAL FOUR RUN

The SU men’s basketball team captured the NCAA East Regional Championship, knocking off Marquette, 55-39, to advance to the Final Four for the fifth time in program history. The fourth-seeded Orange, propelled by a tenacious defense, disposed of Montana, California, and Indiana, the region’s top seed, en route to the Elite Eight showdown with Marquette at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The amazing post-season run came to a halt in the Final Four, however, when South regional winner Michigan upended the Orange, 61-56, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Syracuse completed the 2012-13 season with a 30-10 mark that included a runner-up finish in the Big East Tournament to Louisville, which went on to defeat Michigan in the national title game.

In making the Final Four—the Orange’s first since winning the 2003 NCAA championship—Coach Jim Boeheim ’66, G’73 became the fourth head coach to reach the Final Four in four different decades (1987, 1996, 2003, 2013). Boeheim, who moved this season into second on the all-time coaching wins list (920), called the squad one of his best defensive teams ever and credited it with battling back from a late regular season slump to collect hard-earned victories in the Big East and NCAA tournaments. “I’ve enjoyed this team as much as any team I’ve coached,” Boeheim said. “They’ve achieved more than I ever thought they could. And I always think they can achieve a lot.”